


and i will sing a lullabye

by lovelyflowersinherhair



Category: The Beatles (Band)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26168989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelyflowersinherhair/pseuds/lovelyflowersinherhair
Summary: Heather had never been a big sister before.
Relationships: Heather Louise McCartney & Linda McCartney, Heather Louise McCartney & Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney/Paul McCartney, Mary McCartney & Heather Louise McCartney
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	and i will sing a lullabye

“Well, here we are,” Daddy told her, as he pulled the car to a stop in the back of the Avenue Clinic, and cut the engine. He punctuated his comment with a rather loud yawn. “Are you ready to come in with me and see Mummy?” 

Heather let out a sigh. “It’s not only Mummy,” she reminded him. “Daddy? Can I see the baby, too?” 

Heather didn’t necessarily want to meet the baby -- she was quite upset about the fact that the baby’s arrival meant that she had her Uncle Mike staying with her for a whole week -- but she didn’t want to upset Mummy and Daddy. They seemed quite excited for her to meet her younger sister, even though Heather didn’t understand why. Daddy had even brought Mummy’s camera with the special shutter that would let them all take a picture together. 

“I thought you didn’t want to see her,” Daddy reminded her, and Heather shrugged her shoulders. “If you want to see her, of course you can. If not, the nurses will watch her in the nursery.” 

Heather pondered this. “Is that what your Mummy did? When she was a baby and mummy nurse?” 

“Me mum?” Daddy asked her. There was a catch in his throat. He didn’t often like to talk about her. “Sometimes,” he said. “She worked on maternity wards like the one Mummy’s on, yeah, but she also delivered babies in the council flats that we lived in. Giving birth in hospital wasn’t done as much back then...it was considered to be a luxury. She was brilliant at her job. She was quite keen on it, y’know?” 

Heather nodded. She reached out for his hand. “She sounds like she was nice.” 

“She was,” he nodded in agreement. “She’d’ve loved you. We’ve named your sister after her. Mary Anna.” 

“That’s the name I told you I liked!” Heather beamed. “Anna! You picked it?” 

Daddy ruffled her hair. “Of course we picked it,” he told her. “We wanted you to feel included, y’know. You’re her big sister. It’s quite the important role.” 

“Do you think that she’ll like me?” Heather had already decided that she would go meet the baby, even though she was rather intimidated by the newborn. “Will she let me hold her, do you think?” 

“Of course, she’ll let you hold her. She’s going to love you. I reckon she knows who you are.” 

“Really? How?” 

“Y’know, because of all the attention ye paid her, when she was still inside of your mummy. You showered her with it. She knows who ye are.” 

In spite of Heather’s trepidation about the baby, she was pleased to hear that Daddy thought that Mary knew who she was.

“Will you help me hold her?” 

Daddy nodded. “Of course I will,” he promised her. “I’ll even carry ye in.” 

And he did.

“Here we are,” Daddy told her, and he motioned to a door that was closed. “Mummy’s in here.” 

“Is the baby?” Heather asked him. She hadn’t noticed a baby that looked like Mummy or Daddy in the room that Daddy had told her the babies were allowed to sleep in, but she hadn’t looked at them for very long. Daddy hadn’t wanted to be spotted. “Do you think the baby’s with her?” 

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I think so,” he said. “She was probably hungry, y’know? Mummy’s been feeding her.” 

“Are you sure we’re not bugging them?” 

Sometimes, Martha and the kitties got annoyed when Heather bothered them when they were eating. She wasn’t sure if she’d bother the baby too. Or Mummy. Mummy hadn’t been in the best of moods yesterday. Heather now wondered if that was because Mary had been trying to come. Mummy hadn’t said anything, and had gotten cross at Daddy when he’d been brave enough to ask, but Mary was here. So maybe she had been. 

“I promise, we’re not bugging them,” he assured her. Heather smiled at him. “Your mummy, she asked me to bring you. She’s missed you.” 

“She wouldn’t have to miss me if she’d come home,” she muttered. “Why does she have to stay a whole week?” 

“So she and the baby can get to know each other,” Daddy explained. “Mummy’s got you, yeah, but you know I’ve never been round a baby. I need the time to learn how to care for her, and how to care for your mummy. I promise, I’ll bring you to visit every day. I’ve it sorted.” 

“You promise?” 

“I promise. Mike’s not that bad, is he? You like him?” 

“Uh huh,” she agreed. “I do like him. He’s my uncle!” 

“So it’s okay, right? That he’s with you?” 

Heather let out a sigh. She wanted to say no, but she didn’t think that Daddy would come home, even if she did. Even though she missed him and Mummy, she didn’t want Mummy and baby Mary to be alone. Even though it was at the expense of her own comfort. 

“You  _ promise _ it’s only for a week?” 

“Of course, I promise,” he told her. “Really, darling, it’s only for a week. It’ll go by before you know it. You’ll see us every day.” 

“Okay,” she whispered. “Is Mummy okay? Is she feeling better?” 

“She’s going to be just fine,” he assured her. “Come on, why don’t we go in and see her for yourself?” 

He opened the door, revealing the interior of the room to her, and she spotted her mum sat up on the bed, clad in her favourite dressing gown. Daddy had bought it for her to wear when they were up in Scotland, and Heather quite liked cuddling with Mummy when she wore it. It was soft. She wondered if the baby liked it too. Mummy looked okay, at least, as far as Heather could tell. She was a bit sad that the bump she’d loved so much no longer contained the baby. Heather had loved feeling Mary kick. There was a bundle of blankets cradled in Mummy’s arms, and Heather’s eyes lit up. 

“Hey, Lin, look who I’ve found,” Daddy teased. “Heather’s quite keen on meeting her sister, aren’t ye?” 

Despite herself, she nodded. “Uh-huh,” she whispered. “Can I see her? Can I see you?” 

“Of course you can see her.” Mummy beckoned Heather over with her free hand. “Bring Heather to me,” she told Daddy. “I want our girls to meet each other.” 

“You want me to set up the camera?” Daddy asked her, as he crossed the room, and placed Heather on the bed beside her mum. Heather peered at the bundle in Mummy’s arms, unsure of what to make of her sister. “Ah, that’s brilliant, isn’t it?” 

“You want to get in the picture?” Mummy asked. Daddy must have nodded, because she continued to speak. “Go on, Papa. Set it up.” She turned her attention to Heather. “What do you think, sweetheart?” 

“Is she sleeping?” Heather pouted. She’d wanted the baby to be awake. “Mummy, why is she sleeping?” 

“She’s just digesting her meal,” Mummy told her. “You can still hold her.” 

“Daddy said that you used the name that I liked as her middle name?” Heather believed him, she just wanted confirmation. “Mary Anna?” 

“We did,” Mummy confirmed. “What do you think?” 

Heather didn’t know what to think. She’d never been a big sister before. “She’s so tiny,” she breathed, as she reached her hand out to touch the baby’s. “Her hands are so small.” 

“She didn’t feel very tiny,” Mummy quipped. She sounded tired. “She’s a good weight, Hettie. She’s doing quite well for herself.” 

“How are you?” Heather turned her attention to her mum. “Are you okay?” 

“You’re sweet to worry about me,” Mummy said. “I’m okay. Just a little achy. It’s normal.” 

“Can Daddy help me hold her?” 

“Is that what you want?” Mummy asked. “Daddy to help you?” 

Heather nodded. “Uh huh, that way he’ll be holding her too. I don’t want her to be scared if she wakes up. She’s never met me outside yet.” 


End file.
